02-02-2017, 08:17 PM
Superior Donuts was originally a play in 2009.
Here's what the Times said about the beroadway production:
"In reviewing the Broadway production, Isherwood called Superior Donuts "a gentle comedy that unfolds like an extended episode of a 1970s sitcom" and "a warm bath of a play that will leave Broadway audiences with satisfied smiles rather than rattled nerves." He felt if the play "possesses the nostalgic appeal of a classic sitcom, it is also hampered by some of the genre’s standard flaws. A subplot about Franco’s gambling debts feels contrived, like one of those dubious byways cooked up by writers in the later seasons of a series, when inspiration flags and the characters’ interactions have begun to go stale. The ancillary characters... might have come straight from the Sidekicks, Neighbors and Friends rack, although the excellent actors imbue them all with a sharp specificity. The relationship at the heart of the play, between Arthur and Franco, is also not without its formulaic aspects. Mr. Letts’s depiction of this budding cross-racial, cross-generational friendship feels a little retrograde, as both Arthur and Franco reveal dimensions that confound each other but help ease the awkwardness between them... But Mr. Letts treads gently, underplaying the surrogate-son aspect of their dynamic."
So it was kind of crummy, sitmom-y and retro in 2009. Now, after being mauled by CBS, I'm sure the filling in this donut is 'dead duck'.
Here's what the Times said about the beroadway production:
"In reviewing the Broadway production, Isherwood called Superior Donuts "a gentle comedy that unfolds like an extended episode of a 1970s sitcom" and "a warm bath of a play that will leave Broadway audiences with satisfied smiles rather than rattled nerves." He felt if the play "possesses the nostalgic appeal of a classic sitcom, it is also hampered by some of the genre’s standard flaws. A subplot about Franco’s gambling debts feels contrived, like one of those dubious byways cooked up by writers in the later seasons of a series, when inspiration flags and the characters’ interactions have begun to go stale. The ancillary characters... might have come straight from the Sidekicks, Neighbors and Friends rack, although the excellent actors imbue them all with a sharp specificity. The relationship at the heart of the play, between Arthur and Franco, is also not without its formulaic aspects. Mr. Letts’s depiction of this budding cross-racial, cross-generational friendship feels a little retrograde, as both Arthur and Franco reveal dimensions that confound each other but help ease the awkwardness between them... But Mr. Letts treads gently, underplaying the surrogate-son aspect of their dynamic."
So it was kind of crummy, sitmom-y and retro in 2009. Now, after being mauled by CBS, I'm sure the filling in this donut is 'dead duck'.